When a semiconductor device is manufactured, in respective processes, in order to check whether a pattern is formed on a substrate in accordance with design, a critical dimension scanning electron microscope or the like has been widely used.
The following Patent Literature 1 describes a technique for comparing design data obtained using CAD (Computer Aided Design) with an image (an SEM image) of a wiring pattern picked up by an SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) to evaluate a resulting wiring pattern.
The following Patent Literature 2 describes a technique for detecting and correcting the rotation of an SEM image using design data before evaluating a pattern. It is because if an SEM image is rotated, a pattern may be erroneously evaluated.